It was the songwriter's night of nights once more for the annual APRA Awards, hosted by APRA AMCOS at Sydney's International Convention Centre. The Music hit the red carpet to catch up with some of the finest musicians the industry has to offer. Haven't checked out the full list of winners yet? Head here.
Amy Shark
Amy Shark's year has been a massive one. She's cleaned up just about every award she's been nominated for and took home the award for Best Pop Work Of The Year.
"It's very, very important and I’m very competitive," she laughs when asked if winning awards ever loses its excitement. "So every time it’s amazing. And this particular award ceremony has also meant a lot to me because it’s about songwriting specifically. It means the world, I’ve wanted to win an APRA for a very long time, so I’m very, very happy right now."
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil received the evening's highest honour — the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music — which also saw a tribute performance from the likes of Baby Animals' Suze DeMarchi, Adalita and The Preatures' Isabella Manfredi join forces to perform some of the band's most-loved works.
"I think the fact is that we’re not a big awards band really but this one means something to us, there’s no doubt about that," said Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett when speaking with The Music.
"First album in the old Alberts studios, just up in the city, and then Diesel & Dust which was a really important album for us, again at Alberts. We played with Alberts’ bands and they were big pioneers in terms of sort of advancing Australian music, which was something very important to us and we were part of it. It’s a pretty important night tonight."
AB Original
"It’s a pretty good bookend," said AB Original's Briggs of the duo's win of Songwriter Of The Year and their stellar year off the back of their album, Reclaim Australia.
"If you type in Reclaim Australia on Google, it now comes up with AB Original," shared Hilltop Hoods when presenting Briggs and Trials with the award. "They literally reclaimed Reclaim Australia. So I would like everyone to join me in asking them to name their next album 'One Nation.'"
The duo are the first ever hip hop act to take out the award.
NOW Australia, Tracey Spicer & Isabella Manfredi
APRA guests were asked to wear a 'splash of purple' in support of the recently launched NOW Australia campaign, founded by journalist Tracey Spicer.
"The idea about the splash of purple was the brainchild of Millie from APRA. Purple’s the Suffragette colour and we wanted to raise not only awareness of the incidents of sexual harassment in the workplace but also money for now.org.au so we can connect anyone in any workplace, the lowest paid sectors in the country with the help they need," explained Spicer.
"We just have to [make change], even if it’s a pain in the arse for some people and other people don’t want to get involved and they don’t want to talk about it because it’s too icky and too difficult," said NOW Australia ambassador Isabella Manfredi.
"The train is rocking along, it is not stopping for anyone now. I think that has been the biggest surprise for all of us with #MeNowMore and the open letter. We really felt like we had to pick that up before the momentum for #MeToo fizzled away. And yet, it’s just gained and gained and gained all of this ground as more and more stories come out.
"It’s fantastic because she’s been at the coalface of this," said Spicer when asked why Manfredi is such an important ambassador for NOW Australia. "There’s sexual harassment in every industry and the fact that she’s so courageous to speak out about not only her own experiences but to stand up for others in the industry speaks volumes, she’s an absolute powerhouse. I adore her."
Ben Abraham
"I had no idea this was happening, so I was not prepared even a little bit. I’m thrilled. I had an amazing year last year," said a very surprised Ben Abraham of his co-win of the Overseas Recognition Award (Kylie Sackley also shared the honour). It was certainly one that was deserved after a massive 12-months for the songwriter, which included a co-writing credit on Kesha's Praying.
"For whatever the reason, the trajectory of my career has been the doors have opened overseas before here, which I’m thrilled with, and it’s a privilege because not everyone has that, but also my heart and my passion is Australian, so I’m pretty thrilled. The best thing for me, honestly, awards are kind of odd things I think, but for me the best thing is having a chance to just stand in front of that room and be like, 'Hey, I’m here and I’m excited to be a part of this family.'"
"Most of my songs I write for me to perform but when I do write for anyone else, or with anyone else, the dream is always to tell the truth through our art," said Abraham of his work on Praying. "I’m not a very showy songwriter, I wish I could be cooler but I’m not, but what I’m passionate about is finding a truthful way to tell a story and I think we got really lucky. I think that Kesha, Ryan and I found something really special in telling her story and the way she sings it is just flawless. I just feel really honoured that I was a part of it. How crazy, that’s a once in a lifetime experience."
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